Troubled overhaul of NYC's 911 system $700 million over budget: WSJ

(Reuters) - An overhaul of New York City's 911 system has cost at least $700 million more than expected and suffered years of delays caused by mismanagement, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The modernization project was launched in 2004 under former mayor Michael Bloomberg to address failings in the emergency system experienced during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and a 2003 blackout in the U.S. Northeast, the Journal said.

Current Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered a review of the project by the New York City Department of Investigation and DOI Commissioner Mark Peters said in a preliminary report in August that the program had "suffered from significant mismanagement which at times was nothing short of governmental malpractice."

Citing the DOI's final report, due to be released on Friday, the Wall Street Journal said senior program managers had exaggerated their progress to the Bloomberg administration and officials had failed to properly oversee contractors.

DOI representatives did not immediately respond to request for comment.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)